Robyn Eckhardt writes: We'll get back to the all-important topic of sate soon enough, but for now we just have three words: Thank you Obama. We've been on Java since last week, and as per usual nearly every Indonesian we've met has asked us where we're from. Over the last seven years or so saying we're American has rarely elicited the kind of overtly negative reaction that some Americans abroad have described (in fact, the only time that sort of thing happened was three years ago, in Italy). But the reception to our self-identification as Americans has certainly often been cool. Wow. What a difference an election cycle makes. This past week, every Indonesian has responded to our being Americans with one word: 'Obama!'  ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: We'll get back to the all-important topic of sate soon enough, but for now we just have three words: Thank you Obama. We've been on Java since last week, and as per usual nearly every Indonesian we've met has asked us where we're from. Over the last seven years or so saying we're American has rarely elicited the kind of overtly negative reaction that some Americans abroad have described (in fact, the only time that sort of thing happened was three years ago, in Italy). But the reception to our self-identification as Americans has certainly often been cool. Wow. What a difference an election cycle makes. This past week, every Indonesian has responded to our being Americans with one word: 'Obama!'  ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: We've been in Jakarta for the last couple days, with not a lot of free time to choose where we eat. But wee we did manage to stop a sate shop that we've been dying to try ever since our last visit, when we noticed that it was packed every single night. The wait was worth it. No time for a detailed post now- we're on our way to a farm a few hours outside of town, where we'll be enjoying the fresh air and doing a bit of work for the next few days. But in the meantime - until I can finish this post when we're back in KL later in the week ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Much in the way that a seafood vendor's stall makes for the perfect setting in which to partake of kinilaw, meat may well be best enjoyed in front of a butcher counter. That, anyway, is what we took away from our lunch at Carniceria Santa Fe, a stubby Pepto Bismol-pink butcher shop cum sundries store just off Santa Fe's Cerillos Road. Finding great food in spots that fly under the radar is about keeping your eyes open when traversing landscapes that you'd otherwise be tempted to snooze through. Cerillos Road is an unattractive strip mall-lined antidote to Santa Fe's adobified American Southwestern charm. It does not ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Two Malaysian Brothers Keep a Vegetarian Tradition Alive Ho Cheong San (right) and brother Ho Hon with their father's portrait  Note: This article appeared in the October issue of Time Out Kuala Lumpur. We don't know if it's because of the subject matter or because of the brothers Hon themselves (you'd be hard-pressed to find two nicer, more generous guys), but this was one of the most enjoyable projects we've ever collaborated on. 'Every Monday morning. I sit down and do it every Monday. You just can't get away from it!' says Ho Cheong San. Perched on a low stool at the rear of his dimly lit Pandan Jaya workshop, he tears pieces from ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Nam Son is a Saigon rarity: a restaurant that's been around for decades. Our friend My, who's in her mid-thirties, remembers eating there as a young girl. In Saigon, which is remaking itself by the minute, a thirty-plus year-old restaurant seems antique. Back when My's parents brought her here Nam Son was a relatively upscale restaurant, and it's obvious from the peeling paint and nicked floors that this place has seen better days. But it's got a certain vintage appeal, and the second-story dining room offers a fine view of Saigon's legendary traffic through a veil of its trademark tangle of telephone and electrical lines.... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: At any rate, more than you ever wanted to know about Dave and Robyn can be found in this interview on the Filipino food blog Table for Three, Please. Many thanks to our interviewer Franco, who with his thoughtful questions actually manages to make us seem somewhat interesting! read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Abandoned trailers in the vicinity of Bishop New Mexico Now, while at least half the US is still wrapped in the warm, fuzzy glow of change/hope/yes-we-can, seems the perfect time to post some Americana. Vintage Cadillac, Espanola New Mexico Last month we spent three and a half weeks in the US - our longest stay since we moved to Bangkok seven years ago. We split our time between three very different parts of the country: the San Francisco Bay Area (where we resided happily for 8 years), Kite and hills at sunset, Emeryville California Michigan (where we both grew up and earned ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Today Americans take to the polls, exercising their right to choose ... anyone but that other candidate But seriously - if you're eligible and haven't done so already .... vote! The right to cast a free ballot that actually matters is not one that everyone in the world enjoys. We shouldn't waste it. read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: As recently as two weeks ago we believed that Vietnam was home to the world's best sandwiches. But no more. We've been torta-fied.  A torta is a Mexican sandwich comprised of any one of a number of fillings nestled between the halves of an oval roll called a bollilo. I've long known of the existence of torta, but never thought to actually try one. To tell the truth, until I caught banh mi fever in Vietnam sandwiches just seemed so pedestrian, so American. If you're going to eat Mexican food, I thought, why eat a sandwich? Then one day last week we were trolling for lunch in Espanola, ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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